Stones of Remembrance

by tklicka on January 11, 2018

2018 is HERE! And I am celebrating God’s goodness to me in so many ways. This includes celebrating the near-completion of a long-standing special project! For over three years now, I’ve been wanting to build a patio out back. In the spring of 2015, I had saved up to purchase a few hundred concrete stones to form the patio, but I couldn’t afford to hire someone to build it. So three pallets of concrete pavers just sat in my driveway and I had no idea how long they would be there!

Then that winter of 2015, after saving up for it, I hired a guy to build me a very tiny deck to replace a rough set of stairs out back. My plan at that time was to continue the project and build a stone patio in the spring of 2016.

However, God had other plans. When my then-husband Peter – who had moved out, leaving me in March that year – found out I was planning to start work on the patio soon, he threatened that he would not provide the financial support he promised me he would if I spent one penny on the patio. He literally ordered me to “cease and desist” my plans. Even though the house was entirely mine, as I purchased it myself before we married and had paid for almost everything I had ever done in and to my home, he knew I now needed his financial support. Outmaneuvered, I dropped the idea of building a patio, and purposed in my heart to trust God and remember His goodness.

I tried to see those piles of stones in my driveway as stones of remembrance, for all the mercy and good gifts God had given me.

I admit, it’s been a very hard road the past two years. I gave up trying to understand God’s ways and instead, have tried to focus on His promises – He is unceasingly good toward His children and faithful in all His ways. I tried to see those piles of stones in my driveway as stones of remembrance, for all the mercy and good gifts He has given me, including seven beautiful children who I so deeply treasure and 25 years of marriage to Chris Klicka, a most remarkable, godly, and loving man, plus many miracles the Lord has demonstrated to me in His lovingkindness.

Then this winter God provided what I thought was impossible. After trying to get a quote last summer for constructing the patio and finding no one who would charge me less than three times what I could pay, God brought me someone who could build it at a price I could afford. However, I really didn’t know what to expect. At the price I was quoted, would I have to settle for a so-so job? As I watched the work taking place in November and December though, I marveled. What I had dreamed up and drawn on paper three years ago was now unfolding before my eyes.

Today, the last patio stone was put in place and the project is nearly completed. I couldn’t be more pleased or more thankful to my Father! There are even leftover materials which will enable me to extend the patio a little further this spring, just when my newly-planted bushes and trees start to bloom. . .I can’t wait!

“Oh, how abundant is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear Youand worked for those who take refuge in You, in the sight of the children of mankind!” -Psalm 31:19

My Kids – 2016

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ABOUT ME

WHO I AM – I’m a whole-hearted Jesus follower who thrives on espresso, classical music, art, and beauty all around me. As the widow of Christopher J. Klicka, former Senior Counsel for the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), I walked with my dear husband through a 15-year battle with MS and am thankful for every day God gave us together. I am a busy mom of seven, now-adult children and three grandchildren. I’ve homeschooled all of my kids K-12 and graduated my last child the end of 2016. What an incredibly blessed journey we’ve had together!

WHY I BLOG – Our lives together as a homeschooling family have been full, and crazy and wonderful, and also hard and challenging beyond what we could ever imagine. I write, speak, and blog because God has walked with me through all the ups and downs of my life. Because of His faithfulness, I love to encourage others that no matter what happens, God is good…all the time.

WHAT I DO – Since 2011, I’ve been serving as the Director of Development for the Home School Foundation (www.homeschoolfoundation.org), the charitable arm of the Home School Legal Defense Association, which helps families homeschool through hard times.